The current paper document-processing environment is dependent upon paper processing, which can be inefficient. What is needed is an efficient electronic paper document design process that confirms a paper document design that will be compatible with current electronic capture, storage, and processing system, which are used to alleviate or otherwise mitigate the dependence upon paper form of items such as personal and business checks, for example. Since a vast majority of checks are transported physically via air from one bank to another, and planes can be grounded for a variety of reasons, substantial costs can be incurred by banks due to check processing being delayed. The current system relies upon the physical movement of original paper checks from the bank where the checks are deposited to the bank that pays them, which can be inefficient and costly.
Under current law, a bank may send the original paper check for payment unless it has an electronic payment agreement with the paying bank. Under Check 21 legislation in the United States, by authorizing the use of a new negotiable instrument called a “substitute check” (aka image replacement document), electronic check processing is enabled without mandating that any bank change its current check collection practices. The substitute check is a paper reproduction of an original check that contains an image of the front and back of the original check, which is suitable for automated processing in the same manner as the original check, as long as the check image meets other technical requirements, such as having mandated image quality, otherwise referred to as image readiness.
As a result of Check 21, banks that wish to scan the original paper check to create a substitute check will require it to be “image ready” compatible. Image readiness is the design attributes of a check that ensures optimum recognition of amounts, legibility of handwriting, and reasonably low file size. Current testing of image readiness procedures uses a scanner to convert a physical check into a binary image, which is then analysed to ensure that the entire check background of the resultant image scan is Check 21 compliant. The testing is performed to ensure minimal background clutter and high background reflectance. For example, excessive background clutter causes interference with the legibility of handwritten data and low background reflectance causes handwritten data to drop out due to insufficient contrast. Background clutter can consist of offset ink that does not drop out when scanned, which causes the background features of the document to remain in the document image.
Unfortunately, current testing is only used to test compliance of the final version of check document designs, which is extremely inefficient since the current design process is heavily manual in nature, requiring the cyclic iteration of offset press setup and printing and then final testing of the resultant physical draft check version. In the check design process, design features that are desirable to the naked eye are not always compatible from a imaging quality exhibited by a physical paper document. This manual design process is inefficient in cost and time due to the multiple check versions that must be physically manufactured in order to finalize a check design that ultimately satisfies current image readiness standards.
Current check designs have to be printed and then tested for image readiness in order to confirm how a typical reader/sorter will process the resultant image of the check. If the physical check design is rejected by a reader/sorter, them modifications are required and the check design is adjusted and a new physical check is printed for image testing. It should be noted that a new plate, for an offset printing process, is created for each new check design, which is considered an expensive and time consuming process. What is needed is a system/method for predicting the image quality of a physical check or other image-ready item before the check of other image ready item is manufactured.